Mooresville, N.C. (July 23, 2010) – Rookie driver Zach Germain has raced on a wide variety of tracks this season in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East. This week, the series returns to the type of track that reminds Germain of his roots—Lee USA Speedway, a 3/8-mile short track.

“This weekend will definitely bring back fond memories of everyone at Columbus Motor Speedway. Lee USA Speedway is an old, short race track and from the photos I’ve seen, it reminds me of my hometrack,” said Germain, the 25 year old from Columbus, OH.

Unlike when he first raced a short track, Germain is going into the Lee bullring with hundreds upon hundreds of laps of short track experience—much of it very fresh in his mind.

“The No. 24 team here at Germain Racing has been very busy since our last K&N Pro Series East race at Lime Rock. We have had the Germain.com Camry on track testing several times in the last couple weeks and we’ve logged a ton of laps. At Hickory last week we completed a 130-lap tire run which really taught me a lot about how my car will change throughout the race this Friday night at Lee,” explained Germain.

Ever studious, the Miami University of Ohio graduate is excited about the latest ‘professor’ to lead his efforts with the No. 24 Germain.com Camry.

“From the beginning of this season, I knew that our main focus each time we fire up the Germain.com Camry was education. It was about me learning the race cars, the tracks, and how to communicate with the crew. Jaime (“JJ”) Jones will call the shots for me this week at Lee USA and he’s been a great asset to have on our team through our last couple test sessions. JJ has worked with young, rookie drivers in NASCAR and he has a great way of letting you learn your lessons on your own in the car,” said Germain.

One such lesson Germain learned was that slower can be much faster.

“As we were working on older and older tires in our test sessions, I realized I needed to feather the throttle more to control the car. It turned out the lap times were much faster when I was running at 75 or 85 percent throttle. JJ was very excited to see me learn this ‘on my own.’ I’m looking forward to having him along with our No. 24 team this week at Lee,” said Germain.

The Germain.com Camry races at Lee USA Speedway on Friday, July 30th, at 8:30 PM Eastern. The 125-lap race will be broadcast on SPEED on Thursday, August 5th at 6:00 PM Eastern.

Germain Racing is a championship-winning organization competing in all three of NASCAR’s national series. The team adds the K&N Pro Series East No. 24 Germain.com Camry to its lineup this year, and may add K&N Pro Series West and late model races. Sponsorship and branding opportunities are available. Visit GermainRacing.com for more information.

When shopping for your new or used car or truck, head directly to Germain.com to find the perfect vehicle or visit your local Germain dealer in Ohio, Florida, or Arkansas. Follow Zach Germain or Germain Racing on Twitter @ZachGermain, @GermainRacing, or on the web, Germainracing.com or become a Facebook fan.

July 28, 2010 (Mooresville, N.C.) - On the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series schedule, Martinsville Speedway has served as the “adopted home track” for Todd Bodine for years. Now that Pocono Raceway is on the agenda, Bodine will truly be racing at home. A native of nearby Chemung, NY, Bodine has made appearances at Pocono for years and looks forward to racing at “The Tricky Triangle” in Saturday’s Pocono Mountains 125.

"When I heard that we were going to race there, I was tickled," Bodine told The Citizens’ Voice, a Wilkes-Barre, PA, newspaper, of when he learned Pocono Raceway had been added to the Truck Series schedule.

Truck Series teams are very familiar with the tri-oval race track. Pocono Raceway was a key test track for truck teams before NASCAR changed it’s testing policy at the end of the 2008 season.

"For a crew chief, Pocono as a race track presents a lot of challenges, but you are basically looking for the same result—the Germain.com Tundra has to turn through the center of the corners or it’s not going to be fast. What we have with Pocono is a new track and new rules. NASCAR has set out an eight-degree camber rule for the left front and a minimum air pressure requirement for the left front tire. The camber is significantly less than what many crew chiefs would chose to run, so it adds another unique aspect to a track that’s already one of a kind,” said crew chief Mike Hillman Jr.

Hillman and Bodine prepare for Pocono Raceway as the leaders in the Truck Series standings. Bodine has a 177-point lead of fellow Tundra driver Aric Almirola while Germain Racing leads Kyle Busch Motorsports by a narrow eight-point margin in the owner’s standings.

Bodine will race chassis TRD-122. This season TRD-122 has been to Martinsville, Dover and Iowa.

Saturday’s 50 lap/120 mile Truck Series debut at Pocono is scheduled to start at 1:00 PM Eastern. SPEED will carry the race live starting at 12:30 PM or race fans can tune in to their local MRN affiliate.

Follow Germain Racing on Twitter @GermainRacing or on the web at Germainracing.com or become a Facebook fan.

When shopping for your new or used car or truck, head directly to Germain.com to find the perfect vehicle or visit your local Germain dealer in Ohio, Florida, or Arkansas. Germain.com is part of Germain Motor Company, a top-25 automotive retail network with 21 dealerships and more than 60 years of experience.

Indianapolis, IN (July 25, 2010) – It is not a secret that Max Papis is considered to be one of the top racecar drivers in the world, boasting a resume that consists of the most prestigious racing events globally. This weekend, Papis was looking to add the Brickyard 400 to that list.

A year ago, a dejected Papis departed Indianapolis Motor Speedway just shy of qualifying for his first NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at the famed Brickyard. From the time his #13 GEICO Toyota Camry was unloaded this weekend, everyone knew that this year would tell a different tale. Papis and the Gecko immediately established their presence in the opening practice session when they shot straight to the top of the speed charts and sat third, behind only Juan Pablo Montoya and Jimmy Johnson.

As the pressure mounted heading into the qualifying session on Saturday morning, Papis handled it with a veteran’s calm. He climbed into the #13 GEICO Camry and promptly turned a lap that placed him comfortably in the field for Sunday’s Brickyard 400. He toured the historic facility in just 50.386 seconds, at a rate of speed of 178.621 miles per hour, making him the third fastest ‘go or go home’ car. Papis and the GEICO Camry would start 35th on the grid, just behind Joey Logano and just ahead of 2000 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion, Bobby Labonte.

After several extremely hot days in the Indianapolis area, Sunday presented the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series with bright sunshine and temperatures in the mid-80’s. While the weather was nice the opening lap of the Brickyard 400 would prove to be more harsh.

After the green flag was displayed, the field headed into Turn 2 and quickly found themselves in a crash that involved nearly ten cars. Papis and the #13 GEICO Camry would escape nearly unscathed, but would sustain some damage to the left rear of the racecar. Also, a large amount of grass was sucked into the radiator, causing the engine temperature to rise. After several trips down pit road, the Germain Racing crew would get the car repaired and return the engine to its normal temperature.

Restarting the race in the 37th position on Lap 8, Papis would quickly move the #13 GEICO Camry forward. He reached 34th by Lap 10 and then dipped into the Top 30 by Lap 13. After hitting the Top 25 on Lap 15, Papis was on fire…. literally. The grass that had been sucked into the engine finally caused the engine to overheat and fire and smoke bellowed from the GEICO Camry forcing it to the garage for the remainder of the afternoon. Papis would be relegated to a 43rd place finish.

“We do not deserve this, no one deserves this,” said an emotional Papis. “We worked so hard this weekend and the GEICO Camry was so fast. We were definitely headed for a Top 10 today. You could see how fast we were, so it’s frustrating to have this happen. I feel bad for all the guys on this GEICO crew who have worked so hard. We just don’t deserve this.”

Despite the setback at the Brickyard 400, Papis still places himself among racing’s elite with his start on Sunday. He has now competed in the Indianapolis 500, the Brickyard 400, the Daytona 500, the 24 Hours of Le Mans and the Rolex 24 at Daytona. Not bad for a guy from a small village in Northern Italy.
Next up for Papis and the GEICO Racing team is Long Pond, PA.

Papis and the #13 GEICO Toyota Camry will hit the 2.5-mile tri-oval of Pocono Raceway for the opening practice session at 12:00 PM (EDT) on Friday, July 30th. Qualifying will follow at 3:40 PM (EDT).

The Sunoco Red Cross Pennsylvania 500 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race is on Sunday, August 1st, and it will be televised live on ESPN beginning at 1:00 PM (EDT), while the Motor Racing Network will carry the live radio broadcast.

To learn more about the GEICO Racing program, please visit: www.geicogarage.com

You can also follow GEICO Racing on Twitter: www.twitter.com/geicoracing

Mooresville, N.C. (07-26-2010) – Thirty-six trucks took the green flag for Friday night’s 200-lap NASCAR Camping World Truck Series event at O’Reilly Raceway Park.Of those, 23 didn’t manage to complete all of the race laps, and seven couldn’t make it to take the checkered flag. They had bad nights. Truck Series champion and current championship points leader, Todd Bodine, drove the No. 30 Germain.com Tundra from a sixth place starting position to a seventh-place finish. For Bodine and the Germain Racing team, it was a ‘bad night.’ The top-ten finish they earned on the ‘bad night’ is a key ingredient in the recipe for Germain Racing's championship performance level.

“Our Germain.com Tundra was a solid top-five truck at O’Reilly Raceway Park but I don’t think we had what we needed to beat Ron (HornadayJr., race winner).For us, knowing we raced a truck that wasn’t capable of competing for the win means Germain Racing had a bad night. That attitude is what keeps our team on top of the Truck Series points and it’s why we were able to bring home a top-ten finish as a result of our ‘bad night.’ We never give up,” said Mike Hillman Jr., crew chief for Bodine and the No. 30 Germain.com Tundra.

Bodine had said the race truck was loose in practice, and for much of the race, he had the same feedback. After the final pit stop, the adjustments made the race truck too tight.

“Our pit crew did another outstanding job on pit stops tonight for the Germain.com Tundra. On the last stop, we made some adjustments that worked too well. We got the truck too tight for Todd and he wasn’t able to drive it where he wanted to on the race track.We’ll take the seventh-place finish, the points we gained over Aric (Almirola), and get ready for Pocono,” said Hillman, who’s led the team to 9 top-five finishes including one win, can now add an actual top-ten finish to the tallies.

The points look much the same leaving O’Reilly, with Bodine and Germain Racing leading the driver’s and owner’s championship standings. Fellow Tundra driver Aric Almirola remains second, but now trails by 177 points with 13 races remaining.

The Germain.com Tundra races next at Pocono Raceway on Saturday, July 31st. It will be the first NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race at the track which has played host to the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series for years. Watch the racing action on SPEED. Follow Germain Racing on Twitter @GermainRacing or on the web at Germainracing.com or become a Facebook fan.

When shopping for your new or used car or truck, head directly to Germain.com to find the perfect vehicle or visit your local Germain dealer in Ohio, Florida, or Arkansas. Germain.com is part of Germain Motor Company, a top-25 automotive retail network with 21 dealerships and more than 60 years of experience.

Indianapolis, Ind. (July 21, 2010) – With his homecoming to Iowa Speedway just one week away, NASCAR Nationwide Series driver Michael Annett is gearing up for two consecutive weeks of short track racing. This week the Nationwide Series circuit will compete on O’Reilly Raceway Park’s .686 mile oval before its second ever appearance on Iowa Speedway’s .875 track.

Sitting just miles from historic Indianapolis Motor Speedway, O’Reilly Raceway Park will host the Nationwide Series Kroger 200 benefiting Riley Hospital for Children on Saturday, making it a two-in-a-row combination weekend for the Nationwide Series and the Camping World Truck Series after both series competed at Gateway International Raceway last week.

Entering his 20th race of the 2010 season, Annett stands 13th in the Nationwide Series championship point standings with only 115 points separating him from the top-10. With one race before his return to his home track, Iowa Speedway, and a steady trio of respectable finishes (12th at Daytona International Speedway, 14th at Chicagoland Speedway, 11th at Gateway International Raceway), Annett hopes to tighten his gap between the top-10 point race with his run at O’Reilly Raceway Park on Saturday.

As this weekend’s race falls third in a four week stretch of races in the Midwest, not only does Des Moines, Iowa native Annett enjoy visiting America’s Heartland, but so does mechanic and front tire carrier of the No. 15 Germain.com Toyota Camry, Ben Runge, who hails from Crawfordsville, Indiana. Considering O’Reilly Raceway Park his home track on the Nationwide Series circuit, Runge, who has been working in motorsports for over 14 years, takes pride in being part of Germain Racing’s No. 15 Germain.com team as they compete in the Hoosier State.

In his third career start at O’Reilly Raceway Park, Annett will hit the track in his No. 15 Germain.com Toyota for practice on Saturday from

10-11:15 a.m. Final practice runs from 11:45 a.m. until 1 p.m. and airs on ESPN 2 at 12:30 p.m. Qualifying for the 200 lap race kicks off at 5:10 p.m. with a live broadcast on ESPN 2 beginning at 5 p.m. Watch and listen live to the Kroger 200 benefiting Riley Hospital for Children at 7:30 p.m.

Bodine Throwing Out First Pitch at Indianapolis Indians Game, Weds. July 21

July 20, 2010 (Mooresville, N.C.) - Todd Bodine has been atop the NASCAR Camping world Truck Series for more weeks this season than he has not. In eleven Truck Series events, he’s finished in the top-five on nine occasions, including one win at Texas Motor Speedway. The team is in championship form, but don’t expect them to have the No. 30 Germain.com Tundra racing for points this Friday night at O’Reilly Raceway Park.

“We’ve been the runner-up at short-tracks. We’ve led laps. Last year at O’Reilly Raceway Park, we showed everyone how much stock we put into our short-track program. We raced side-by-side with Kyle (Busch) for 20 laps before besting him and leading for 23 laps. We’ve come close many times, but what we really want on Friday night is a win on a short track to add to our resume,” said crew chief Mike Hillman Jr.

O’Reilly Raceway Park has been home to many heated discussions after the checkered flag waved. The reason is because the flat, old, short-track pushes drivers and their race trucks to the bitter edge.

“O’Reilly Raceway Park is a flat track that’s real easy to overdrive. The goal of practice is to be sure the Germain.com Tundra can turn good through the center of the corners and keep from getting loose off the corners. The goal for the driver in the race is to practice something no race car driver ever wants to practice, patience,” said Bodine.

Germain Racing has prepared chassis TRD–106 for another session of the bump and grind of Friday night’s 200-lap event at O’Reilly Raceway Park.

“We have a reputation of being strong competitors on intermediate tracks and on the super speedways. We want to be that same kind of threat at short tracks. We’ve prepped this Germain.com Tundra using some trends from Iowa, and a lot of data from years of testing and racing on short tracks. We are heading to Indianapolis to collect a finish that matches our team’s short track performance level,” said Mike Hillman Jr.

Watch the Germain.com Tundra race Friday, July 23rd at O’Reilly Raceway Park on SPEED beginning at 7:30 PM Eastern, or tune into your local MRN affiliate. Follow Germain Racing on Twitter @GermainRacing or on the web at Germainracing.com or become a Facebook fan.

When shopping for your new or used car or truck, head directly to Germain.com to find the perfect vehicle or visit your local Germain dealer in Ohio, Florida, or Arkansas. Germain.com is part of Germain Motor Company, a top-25 automotive retail network with 21 dealerships and more than 60 years of experience.

Madison, Ill. (July 19, 2010) – The one-day show for the NASCAR Nationwide Series heated up at Gateway International Raceway and turned into a doubleheader on Saturday as the Missouri-Illinois Dodge Dealers 250 was preceded by the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race that was previously scheduled for Friday night. With an unexpected power outage at Gateway International Raceway, the Truck Series was forced to postpone their race until Saturday afternoon, allowing race fans to catch two races in one day on Gateway’s 1.25 mile oval.

In his fourth appearance at Gateway International Speedway, Germain Racing driver Michael Annett produced an 11th place finish in Saturday night’s Missouri-Illinois Dodge Dealers 250 driving the No. 15 Pilot Travel Centers Toyota Camry. After pulling an early qualifying draw and going out third of 47 cars, Annett started 33rd, but quickly gained valuable track position by passing 10 cars in the first two laps. Continuing to move through the field, he battled his way into the top-15 by lap 52 and set his sights on making his way into the top-10.

As track condition changed throughout the race, starting with the sun out and transitioning into the night, a tight handling condition along with brake problems challenged the No. 15 Pilot Travel Centers race team throughout the 200 lap event.

Throughout the night, the No. 15 Pilot Travel Centers team, led by crew chief Ryan Fugle, worked hard on pit road and fought through the race to bring home a respectable finish. As the first and second place cars battled to a high intensity finish ending in a multi-car pileup through the checkered flag, Annett drove his way through the smoke of the accident to finish 11th.

The Nationwide Series will again pair with the Camping World Truck Series as they continue their Midwest tour to O’Reilly Raceway Park this week for the 20th race of the 2010 Nationwide Series season. The green flag waves for the start of the Kroger 200 benefiting Riley Hospital for Children at 8 p.m. Watch and listen live on ESPN and MRN Radio beginning at 7:30 p.m. All times are ET.

Madison, IL (July 17, 2010) – Max Papis rolled into Gateway International Raceway looking to make an impressive debut at the track that sits in the shadows of the historic St. Louis Arch. While the majority of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series took the weekend off, Papis hopped into the #9 GEICO Toyota Tundra for this weekend’s NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race to gain additional seat time.

GEICO’s gecko must have felt at home given the high temperatures that blanketed the 1.25-mile oval. The intense heat did not distract Papis, as he sat 16th and 19th in the two practice sessions. He then qualified the #9 GEICO Tundra 21st after hustling around the uniquely shaped oval in just 34.418 seconds, at a rate of speed of 130.746 miles per hour.

Initially scheduled for Friday night, a power outage would force the CampingWorld200.com to be postponed to Saturday afternoon. While the night sky on Friday night would have shielded the track from the blazing temperatures, Saturday afternoon would present conditions that would drive the track temperatures upward near 140 degrees.

When the green flag was displayed on Saturday afternoon, things heated up quickly on the racetrack. Papis and the #9 GEICO Tundra quickly picked up four positions and slid into the 17th spot by the close of Lap 3. Soon thereafter, he narrowly avoided peril when Stacy Compton and Mario Gosselin got together on Lap 14, bringing out the yellow flag. After restarting P15 on Lap 16, Papis and the GEICO Tundra soon found their way into 14th position by Lap 19.

While he dropped to 20th for a few laps, Papis quickly returned the #9 GEICO Tundra to the front of the field. He ran solidly in the Top 15 and remained on the lead lap for the duration of the afternoon, even dipping into the Top 10 at one point. When the race came to a close after a hot, grueling Midwestern afternoon, Papis and the GEICO team came home on the lead lap in 15th place.

“We had a solid afternoon here at Gateway and it was good to get out of here with a Top 15 for the GEICO team,” Papis said. “It was extremely hot, but that’s the reason I train so hard everyday, so I am prepared for days like this. I’m looking forward to getting to Indy next week and redeeming myself from last year when we missed the race. We’re focused on making it happen at the Brickyard for GEICO and for this Germain Racing team.”

Next up for Papis and the GEICO Racing team is the Brickyard in Indianapolis, IN. Papis has had a love/hate relationship with the historic racetrack over the past few years. In 2006, he pulled off a remarkable finish driving for Eddie Cheever in the Indy 500, while 2008 found him missing the world’s biggest race after a devastating crash. Then, in 2009, Indy got the best of him again when it precluded him from making his NASCAR debut after he fell short of qualifying for the Brickyard 400.

Papis and the #13 GEICO Toyota Camry will begin their road to redemption when they hit the 2.5-mile oval of Indianapolis Motor Speedway for the opening practice session at 2:00 PM (EDT) on Friday, July 23rd. Qualifying will take place on Saturday morning at 10:10 AM (EDT).

The Brickyard 400 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race is on Sunday, July 25th, and it will be televised live on ESPN beginning at 1:00 PM (EDT), while the IMS Radio Network will carry the live radio broadcast.

To learn more about the GEICO Racing program, please visit: www.geicogarage.com

You can also follow GEICO Racing on Twitter: www.twitter.com/geicoracing

Madison, Ill. (July 15, 2010) – Returning to the Prairie State for the second week in a row, Michael Annett and Germain Racing’s No. 15 Pilot Travel Centers team will visit Gateway International Raceway following a 14th place finish at Chicagoland Speedway. Gateway International Raceway is located just across the street from one of the 550 locations of Pilot Travel Centers, primary sponsor of the No. 15 Toyota Camry. Coming back to a track where he earned a seventh place finish in the 2009 NASCAR Nationwide Series race, Annett is looking forward to Saturday’s Missouri-Illinois Dodge Dealers 250.

In his fourth ever appearance on the 1.25 mile oval, Annett hopes to repeat the success he showed there in last season’s Nationwide Series event. As the highest finishing Raybestos Rookie of the Year candidate, his seventh place finish in the 2009 Missouri-Illinois Dodge Dealers 250 was one of four top-10 finishes he earned in 2009 and one of his season total of five Raybestos Rookie of the Race awards. The young driver also has previous experience at Gateway in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series where he had a ninth place qualifying effort in 2008 and in the ARCA Racing Series presented by RE/MAX and Menards where he started third and finished sixth in 2007.

New for the 2010 season, Gateway International Raceway will now host two NASCAR Nationwide Series events. In addition to this weekend’s Missouri-Illinois Dodge Dealers 250, the Madison Ill. track will also present a second 250 mile Nationwide Series race on October 23 replacing Memphis Motorsports Park on the schedule. October’s event at Gateway will be a stand-alone race for the Nationwide Series as this weekend’s race activity will be combined with the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series.

In addition to his time on the track, Annett will also participate in some fan friendly activities leading into Saturday’s race. On Friday, Annett will sign autographs with fellow Nationwide Series and Camping World Truck Series drivers for Gateway International Raceway season ticket holders on pit road from 3:15-4:45 p.m. CT. The Germain Racing driver will also compete in the annual driver/media water balloon toss. As the returning champion in this fun yearly event, Annett looks to reclaim his event winning title on Saturday.

Track activity for the Nationwide Series at Gateway International Raceway begins on Saturday with practice from 10-11:15 a.m. and final practice from 11:45 a.m. until 1 p.m. Nationwide Series qualifying kicks off at

4:35 p.m. and the green flag waves for the start of the Missouri-Illinois Dodge Dealers 250 at 8 p.m. A live broadcast of qualifying airs at 4:30 p.m. and live race coverage begins at 8 p.m. on ESPN 2. All times are ET.

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About Germain Racing

Germain Racing team owner Bob Germain Jr. is passionate about racing in NASCAR’s highest ranks. He and his brothers, Steve and Rick, established the racing team in 2004 and Bob is thrilled to see the team’s progression to competing each week in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series.